This invention relates to a blow gun assembly, and more particularly to a blow gun assembly for shooting multiple soft projectiles in rapid succession.
People of all ages have been fascinated with suns for generations. Common toys for children include toy guns using soft projectiles, allowing children to have play “wars” and shoot each other without causing injury. Adults also participate m activities where they shoot targets, or each other, mimicking war scenarios. Such captivation with guns has created an interest in blow guns using soft projectiles, such as marshmallows. Blow guns made specifically tot use with marshmallows are sold commercially in a variety of configurations, and may also be homemade, typically using standard commercially available polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plumbing pipe and fittings.
While blow guns have traditionally fired only one shot at a time, the ability to rapidly fire multiple projectiles using a single blast of an (simulating a machine gun) would provide a competitive advantage and significantly increase the user's enjoyment. However, current soft projectile blow guns, whether homemade or sold commercially, are typically hand-loaded for shooting a single projectile at a time (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,120 to Foley, issued Oct. 18, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,413 to Nagasue, issued Jul. 8, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,922 to Forti. Forti, and Turchik, issued Jun. 7, 2005; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,290 to Mitchell, issued Aug. 25, 2009). Soft projectile guns which include magazines (holding multiple projectiles) typically shoot only one projectile at a time (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,152,117 to Sproull, issued Sep. 7, 1915; U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,287 to De Arbun, issued Jun. 16, 1964; U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,902 to Reynolds, issued May 2, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,832 to D'Andrade, issued Dec. 20, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,826 to Guthrie, issued Dec. 22, 1998; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,621 to Guthrie, issued Feb. 19, 2002). Other projectile shooters, such as paintball guns, airsoft guns, and blow guns with magazines for firing multiple projectiles (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,580,613 to Seibel and Scotti, issued Jan. 1, 1952; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,220,447 to Harrison, issued Jul. 17, 2012) are limited to use with spherical projectiles, and are therefore unsuitable for use with marshmallows, which are cylindrical. The market lacks a blow gun which can continuously shoot multiple cylindrical soft projectiles in rapid-fife succession.
The use of a gravity-fed, vertical magazine in a blow gun is described in the prior art (as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,119 to Ayala, issued Mar. 10, 1964; U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,696 to Hoverath et al, issued Jun. 18, 1968; and Guthrie '826). However, such disclosures in the prior art are intended for use with darts or projectiles having a closely controlled shape and size. Marshmallows, unfortunately, are irregularly sized, making them unsuitable as ammunition in these types of blow guns. In addition, because marshmallows are so easily deformable, they can be much more prone to jamming than other types of projectiles. Marshmallows present a unique challenge to the blow gun designer. Enlarging the magazine and barrel of a blow gun to accommodate the range of individual marshmallow sizes allows migration of unfired marshmallows toward (and out of) the barrel or mouthpiece as the user rotates or moves the gun during play, which is obviously undesirable. Reducing the barrel diameter to restrict passage of the marshmallows (absent a breath of air from the user) causes frequent jams in the breech, as marshmallows become wedged together when trying to enter the barrel.
There exists a need for blow guns which allow rapid continuous firing of multiple soft projectiles without jamming, to provide a competitive advantage and increased enjoyment.